Friend: Coons no threat

By Sarah Jordan

The Bristol Eastern High School junior recently arrested for alleged threats against the school is a normal kid and not dangerous, a friend said. 

Senior Ryan Bolduc, who described himself as a "pretty good friend" of John Coons, painted a picture that was less than alarming.

"He wasn't really going to do anything," Bolduc said.

Recently, city police arrested Coons for allegedly conspiring to attack the school. He allegedly tried to recruit friends to take part in his plan, according to police.

But Bolduc said Coons was just another kid who "played lots of video games" and "role playing games" where players take on a character, similar to the Dungeons and Dragons game.

Coons never asked Bolduc to join in any attack on the school, Bolduc said, and "didn’t say anything about it."

But other students who knew Coons reported his alleged plans to school officials, who turned the matter over to police.

When police searched Coons’ locker, backpack and home, they found no weapons.

The absence of guns didn’t surprise Bolduc, who said his friend had no access to them.

"No way he'd even be able to get one," Bolduc said.

Sharing a popular viewpoint at the school, Bolduc said that administrators and police made too big a deal about the incident.

Asked whether he thought the school would be able to stop another incident, Bolduc said, "If they were able to find out about it, yeah."

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